Charlotte Wessels - The Obsession - CD DIGISLEEVE

The first full studio album experience by Dutch singer/songwriter CHARLOTTE WESSELS (ex-DELAIN)!

While the former DELAIN vocalist’s earlier solo endeavors, full-length song compilations Tales From Six Feet Under (2021) and Tales From Six Feet Under Vol II (2022), already gained Wessels a remarkable number of devotees, resulting in thousands of monthly listeners on Spotify and a loyal fanbase on Patreon, The Obsession truly takes her solo career to the next level. While still writing and producing songs in her Six Feet Under basement home studio and sharing their first incarnations with her patrons, now she’s taking them to the next level backed by a band of her fellow ex-DELAIN cohorts Timo Somers (guitars, additional arrangements), Otto Schimmelpenninck van der Oije (bass) and Joey Marin de Boer (drums) as well as Sophia Vernikov (piano/hammond), contributing to the new heavier sound. It also features arrangements by Vikram Shankar (Redemption, Silent Skies), cello by Elianne Anemaat, was mixed by Guido Aalbers (Muse, Coldplay, Live, Queens Of The Stone Age, The Gathering) and mastered by award-winning mastering engineer Andy VanDette (known for his work with the likes of Porcupine Tree, Deep Purple, Dream Theater, and many more).

Themes like fear, obsessive thoughts and escapism run rampant on the album, presenting dark and heavy on songs like “The Exorcism”, “The Crying Room” and “Ode To The West Wind” (feat. Alissa White-Gluz/Arch Enemy). In addition, there are songs that offer a more upbeat approach to the subject – like “Dopamine” (feat. Simone Simons/Epica) which deals with SSRI-induced numbness, or “Praise” – which sings the gospel of needing external validation in order to feel anything. The reimagining of fan-favorite “Soft Revolution” won’t leave a dry eye in the room, while “Soulstice” and “Serpentine” present an unprecedented dark sensuality. Each song itself functions like an exorcism, an attempt to cast out a little of the fear it deals with.

On The Obsession, CHARLOTTE WESSELS adds bucketloads of bombast to her genre-bending songwriting, as spellbinding melancholia and dark catchy elements meet progressive and heavier soundscapes. The storytelling within the songs give the multifaceted album even more depth, making The Obsession an exciting listening experience and Wessels’ most mature solo offering so far.